


Blemish

by cathrheas



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, First Kiss, MariHilda Week 2020, Marihilda Week (Fire Emblem), Scars, moreso hugging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:22:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22222516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cathrheas/pseuds/cathrheas
Summary: Hilda gets a new scar. She can't hide it from Marianne.
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Comments: 4
Kudos: 104





	Blemish

**Author's Note:**

> whew!! let's go lads, marihil week yeehaw
> 
> Day 1: First Kiss / Cuddles / Scars

_ Just another one to add to the collection. _

Before the war began, it was easier for Hilda to avoid scars and blemishes. The battles were low-stakes, routine, not so surprising. And less frequent, at that. But during the war, Hilda found herself racking up hideous marks on her skin. Some were in subtle places, like the section of her thighs that her tights covered, or the flat of her stomach.

Somehow, she’d managed to get one right across the face.

It was a little thing, but after it had scabbed over and healed, it left a thin brown line, right along her jaw. Hilda wasn’t in the business of applying makeup to hide her scars, it was too much work, but she sure was tempted to buy some concealer after she saw that one.

“Maybe if I...” Hilda stood in front of her mirror, tucking her chin a little closer to her chest. She looked up through her eyelashes like that. It was a cute face, she thought, but if she exaggerated it  _ too _ much, everyone would know she was hiding something. But if she didn’t exaggerate it  _ enough, _ everyone would be able to see the scar.

_ What a pain, _ Hilda thought. The skin was smooth, soft to the touch, but she didn’t want to touch it anymore. She wanted it  _ gone. _ Finally, she forced her hand away from her face and into her lap. At least her legs were covered, and fairly clear-skinned. She could only take so much.

Hilda heard a knocking at her door, and it startled her. She wasn’t  _ expecting _ anyone, really, but she knew that Marianne liked to...appear. Still, Hilda didn’t want to take any chances on being bothered by an unwanted guest, so she approached the door anyway, just to be sure.

Marianne had grown more confident over the years, but she still needed more presence, Hilda thought. When she opened the door, Marianne seemed likely to float away if left unattended to. However, Hilda smiled looking up at Marianne with her chin tilted down to hide her scar. Just to test it out. “Good evening, Marianne! How are you?”

“I’m doing fine. How about you, Hilda?”

“Great! Come on in.” Hilda batted her eyelashes, trying to make the position look a little more believable. Marianne didn’t say anything about it, walking past Hilda and sitting on the bed. “What brings you here? Need some friendly conversation?”

Marianne folded her hands in her lap, waiting patiently for Hilda to sit next to her. Once Hilda took her seat, pressed comfortably to Marianne’s side, Marianne shrugged. “Sort of. I thought that...you might need some conversation, actually.”

“Me? Why?”

“...You seemed troubled, about a week ago, and I know I’m a bad friend for waiting this long to ask, but—”

“Hey,” Hilda interrupted. “None of that! You’re a great friend. And, honestly? If I’m upset, sometimes I  _ want _ people to look the other way. I’m an ugly crier, you know.” Marianne laughed a bit, bringing her hand to her face to cover her smile. “I didn’t mean to worry you. What did you see?”

Marianne smoothed hair back into her bun, an idle tic. “Nothing much. I was walking past Manuela’s office, and I saw you tearing at some bandages and swearing. You seemed to be in a bad mood, so I figured you wanted to be left alone, but there’s no harm in checking in, right?”

_ Oh, Goddess. She saw me. Great. _ “Yeah, I...I got injured during our last march,” Hilda admitted. Marianne was taller, couldn’t see her chin easily. Hilda probably could have hidden it if she really wanted to, but Marianne seemed so concerned that lying would have made Hilda feel worse than she already did. Instead, she tilted her chin up, placing her finger over the scar. “See? It scabbed over already. And now I have this ugly thing.”

“What thing?”

“Marianne, c’mon. Look, it’s literally right here.” Hilda didn’t need a mirror to know the location. She tapped at it with her pointer finger, and Marianne leaned in. “Don’t mess with me. I know it’s there, and pretending it’s not won’t—”

“Ah. I see it.”

_ How could you not?! _ “Yeah. Thank the Goddess most everyone here is taller, or else—”

“It’s not that bad, Hilda.”

“It is. It’s ugly.”

“Stop saying that,” Marianne said. Hilda was truly surprised at how frustrated she sounded. Her tone was aggressive, almost. “It looks fine. And if people see it...then they’ll know just how hard you work for the Golden Deer. For everyone in Fodlan, even! It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Marianne took Hilda’s hands in hers, a normal indicator for “girl talk”. Hilda almost wanted to let go; a mark on her face (well, her chin, but whatever) wasn’t something you had “girl talk” about. But...hell, what else would she do? Sit in her room and sulk about it by herself? At least Marianne was lending an ear. “And that’s cool, and all. Trust me, when the war ends, I’ll be glad to brag about how much I helped. But...beauty is important, too, y’know?”

“You’re still beautiful.”

Hilda really wished she could have turned away or covered her face, but Marianne was looking right at her, and their fingers were still laced together. “Marianne, you don’t have to say all of this.”

“I know I don’t have to. But, also...I do have to say it. I like how confident you are. You know you’re gorgeous, and I admire that. So, please, Hilda, don’t change your mind over something like this. Please?”

“O-okay, don’t beg,” Hilda said. Marianne laughed, releasing Hilda’s hands. Instinctively, Hilda went to touch that long, thin scar running near her jaw-line. Marianne furrowed her brow in concern, putting her hand up to Hilda’s and pulling it away. “What? I can’t touch it, either?”

“No. Not if...” Marianne’s eyes darted away. A blush started to creep up her neck, past the collar of her shirt and into her cheeks. Hilda felt a little embarrassed herself, just knowing that Marianne was embarrassed. Finally, Marianne got herself together, turning to Hilda and cradling one of Hilda’s cheeks in her hand. Marianne stooped down, and Hilda held her breath, waiting for some sort of sign that she could release it. She shut her eyes, too, growing even more anxious every second Marianne hesitated.

Hilda felt soft, slightly-wet lips pressing to a peculiar spot between the corner of her lips and her jawline. Marianne hesitated, just letting her lips rest there, before giving Hilda a kiss there. The scar just barely touched the area where Marianne had kissed—rather, Marianne had just barely kissed the area where the scar touched. Hilda couldn’t help making a sound of surprise, releasing all of her held breath in one (hopefully) silent sigh. Marianne pulled back, seeming a bit more satisfied, and surprisingly serious.

“...What?” Hilda said in disbelief, after letting Marianne stare for a few moments.

“Please s-stop messing with the scar. Or else you’ll wipe my kiss away.”

_ Are you kidding me? That doesn’t even feel fair. Was that our first kiss? Does that count? _ Hilda raised her hand from her lap, ready to start running her finger over the scar again, as if it would disappear. Maybe it  _ was _ disappearing. There was a tingling feeling there, but not over the whole scar. Just the part where Marianne had kissed.

No way Hilda would wipe it away.

“Alright. That’s fair,” Hilda said. “You...you put a lot of work into that kiss.”

“I did...”

“So, I won’t wipe it away. That wouldn’t be nice.”

“Thank you.”

Marianne seemed relieved that Hilda had reacted positively. Hilda had no complaints, after all...although, she wished Marianne would have been a little bolder and went for the lips. Well, that was fine. Hilda had gotten a kiss, in exchange for a little hair-thin scar. Fair exchange. 

“Marianne?”

“Hm?”

“Can I give you a hug? In exchange for your services, and all.”

“O-oh! Of course. Always,” Marianne said. 

Hilda would never get used to seeing that smiling face. It was like a ray of sunshine after years in darkness, seeing Marianne smile so genuinely. Hilda took it in with one last good look before she buried herself in Marianne’s arms, glad to feel Marianne reciprocating so quickly. Marianne gave such soft hugs, her arms wrapped loosely around you. Sometimes it felt like she was too scared to really touch other people, but Hilda came to realize it wasn’t that; she just had a gentle touch.

“Now that I’ve gotten Marianne’s blessing through a kiss _and_ a hug,” Hilda murmured, her hands tiptoeing along Marianne’s shoulder blade, “this scar’ll be gone in no time.”

“And if it’s not, then you’ll still be very pretty, Hilda.”

“Sure, sure,” Hilda responded, a bit mindlessly. It felt nice to be tucked against Marianne’s torso, taking in the heat of her chest while still trying to cope with the warmth of her kiss. She’d believe anything that Marianne told her, then. “But you still have to give me another kiss if it doesn’t disappear. Just so I won’t start picking at it again. And cuddle me again, too. Can you do that for me?”

“A-ah, well...if you really...yes. I can do it.”

_ A promise of a kiss from Marianne? Who knew a little flesh wound would get me this far? _ “Actually, I-I think I have a few more scars you should look at right now, Marianne. Just so I won’t keep touching them.”

“Really? Um...well, I can have a look...” Marianne’s fingers nervously combed through Hilda’s hair. Hilda only snuggled closer.

“Alright. Start with the one on my lips.”

“Huh?! Hilda...!”


End file.
